


Same Time Next Week?

by Concreteayngel



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23569786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Concreteayngel/pseuds/Concreteayngel
Summary: Even a queen needs help dealing with her shit from time to time.Anna seeks therapy to cope with the trauma of her childhood and relationship troubles.Angst/Character Study
Relationships: Anna (Disney)/Other(s), Anna/Elsa (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. The Doc Is In

“So what brings you here today, Your Majesty?” 

The woman sitting across from Anna tapped her pen on her notepad. The middle-aged therapist had kind eyes, a warm smile, and was trying her hardest not to appear intimidated by her surroundings. It wasn’t everyday that a commoner therapist was summoned to the palace to speak with the Queen. 

“Anna, please. Just Anna. It’s going to be difficult to talk to you if we have to stick to royal protocol. And, um, well...I live here?” Anna finished quizzically. 

The therapist chuckled at that. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m accustomed to asking my clients that in my own office,” she spared a glance around her at the stone walls clad with portraits of old dead royals, the grand furnishings, and the massive fireplace that took up most of the wall. 

“What I meant is, what brings _me_ here?” 

“Well, um—I’m sorry, how should I address you?” Anna asked, a little embarrassed. 

“If we’re skipping titles, you can just call me Sophie,” the older woman smiled.

“Ok, Sophie. Well...gosh, where do I even start? I guess I am struggling with a lot of anger and confusion I have over a childhood that wasn’t so easy…” Anna sighed regretfully. 

“Really? Want to tell me about it?” 

“That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” Anna laughed nervously, then continued. “So it’s no secret that my sister has magic ice powers. At least it isn’t secret anymore, but it used to be, for a long time, even from me! And that secret...well it kinda tore my family apart.” 

“How so?” Sophie probed.

“You see, Elsa and I were inseparable when we were little. But then something happened, and then we weren’t. She just sort of shut me out. Literally and figuratively, and she didn’t speak to me for years. Not until after my parents died, not until after The Thaw, really…” 

“What do you think happened that made her pull away?” 

“That’s the thing, for so many years, I didn’t know! Not until somewhat recently. One day we were kids and everything was great, and then the next thing I know, everything changed! Elsa stopped speaking to me, stopped coming out of her room. Nobody smiled or laughed ever again. That’s when my parents closed the gates, kept us locked inside the castle and did everything they could to keep us separated, and _no one would tell me why!”_ Anna became increasingly agitated as she remembered her turbulent, lonely childhood. 

Sophie shook her head in a mixture of empathy and astonished disbelief. “That must have been really frightening for you as a small child. That would be frightening for _anybody_ , really. So what did happen, then? Since you said you found out later on what caused the shift” Sophie pressed. 

“What happened was when we were kids, we were playing, and Elsa was using her magic. She accidentally struck me in the head with her powers, and like, froze my mind or something.

“My parents took me to these magical trolls in the mountains to heal me. And this troll, Grand Pabbie, told my parents that Elsa would be in danger if people found out about her. He wiped my memory of her powers, and told them to never let anyone know. Not even me! Elsa spent the next 13 years ignoring me and slamming doors in my face. I never knew why until just a few years ago after her coronation, when she went all ice crazy and the truth came out…”

Sophie listened intently to Anna’s account and jotted down a few quick notes on her notepad.  
“So now that you know the truth about why your parents and Elsa did what they did, how do you feel about it? Do you wish they had done anything differently?”

“Every fucking day of my life,” Anna grimaced. “I know they were scared and were trying to protect Elsa, but _what about me?_ Why did _I_ have to stay locked up? Why couldn’t I have had any friends? They already had a troll wipe my memory for god sakes! Who was I going to tell?!” Anna fumed. 

Sophie nodded her head sympathetically. “What do you think your parents would say if they could answer you right now?”

Anna’s brow furrowed as she pondered the question. “I think they would tell me that they were trying to protect me, too. From Elsa, mostly. They would never admit it, but they were afraid of her. Afraid of the damage she might do and the scandal her gift could cause. The King and Queen of Arendelle were not used to being powerless, and this was not something they could control--but boy did they try!”

Sophie made another quick note. “That’s an astute observation! So Elsa struck you with her ice magic when you both were very young. That had to be a pretty traumatic thing for you both.”

“More for her than for me. I didn’t even know what had happened until she filled me in after The Thaw a few years back. But she was so scared to hurt me again, she didn’t want me anywhere around her. She thinks she’s a monster. I think that’s because our parents kinda put her in a cage and treated her like a monster. Out of love, but still. They fucked us both up pretty royally. Pun intended.” Anna smirked at her joke and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Is this something you’ve ever talked about with Elsa?” 

“Oh yeah!” Anna grinned at the memory. “She had finally started talking to me again. One night, right after The Thaw, we were snooping around the study and got into some of Daddy’s brandy. We got rip roaring drunk and had a real sob fest. It was good! Cathartic. Elsa and I are in a good place. I mean it’s not _her_ fault that she was born with a gift, or that our parents messed us up with all the secrets and lies. She thought she was doing the right thing.” 

“It’s interesting to me that you seem much more willing to give your sister the benefit of the doubt than your parents. Why do you think that is?” Sophie sipped at the momentarily forgotten cup of tea that Gerda had brought before the start of the session. 

“Because my parents should have known that locking us up and keeping us apart was a terrible idea! How could it not have been? How was Elsa ever going to be able to rule effectively after spending a lifetime locked away, _hiding_ from people? They didn’t raise a _queen_ . They raised a socially anxious _hermit!”_ Anna spat, exasperated. “How could they not know that? I’m barely 21 with no kids, and _I_ know that!” she huffed indignantly.

“I think it’s fair to say that the choices your parents made were ill-advised and resulted in grievous consequences to both you and your sister. But I also think they were doing what they thought was best. But even with the best of intentions, they did irreparable damage to you and your sister. 

“Unfortunately your parents are no longer with us, so it’s not like you’re ever going to get any real closure from them. You’re never going to hear an apology. So the next best thing you can do for yourself is to work on forgiving them. Not for _them,_ but for _you_. So you can work through and then let go of all that anger and grief that currently has nowhere to go but to fester within. And that’s no way to live, Anna. Not for anyone, but most especially not for our Queen who is duty-bound to see to the needs of an entire kingdom of people as well as her own,” Sophie looked pointedly at Anna as she set her tea cup down on the coffee table in front of her. 

Anna sighed wistfully. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I just don’t know how to do that.”

“Not yet!” the therapist supplied. “But we are going to work on building up your emotional tool kit so that you can process what’s happened to you, and really feel whatever that brings up instead of repressing it. Once you do that, you can start to put it behind you. 

“But first things first. I have a bit of a homework assignment for you. Anna, when was the last time you let yourself get really _angry_?” 

Anna’s brow furrowed in thought. “Angry? Well, I….hmmm.”

Sophie smiled knowingly. “I figured as much. Princesses aren’t really encouraged to do anything other than smile and be gracious, am I right?” 

“Something like that,” Anna nodded in agreement. 

“Well guess what, Anna? You’re not a princess anymore. You’re a _queen._ And nobody tells a queen how to feel! Except for me,” Sophie chuckled. “And I’m telling you to allow yourself to feel every bit of that anger. You’re _allowed._ Your parents did a terrible thing to you, and until you allow yourself to really feel that, you’re never going to be able to move on.

“However you do that is up to you, but be safe!” Sophie continued. “Take a boxing class. Throw some dishes at a wall. Or target practice at a shooting range. Maybe art is your thing. Whatever it is, find some way to let all that anger out in a healthy way, because letting it bottle up inside is the worst kind of poison, my dear.”

“Boxing?” Anna snorted. She pictured herself at the next royal ball looking regal as ever in a gown and tiara with a black eye and broken nose. That would never work...but maybe Kristoff could show her a few things. “I think I can do that,” Anna nodded tersely. 

“Good!” Sophie encouraged. “I think if you do, you’re going to feel so much better. Anyway, I think that’s a good place to leave it for today. Same time next week?” 

“Same time next week” Anna nodded. 

As if the walls had ears, Gerda was suddenly there clearing the teacups, and Kai was there to escort her from the room. As she exited the Queen’s private study, a ruggedly handsome mountain of a man with blonde hair and worried eyes was anxiously pacing the corridor on the other side of the door. He briefly made eye contact with the therapist as she was leaving. He gave her a tight smile before shouldering past her into the room, followed by a very chatty little snowman. 

Sophie did a double take. _Well_ that _just happened_

Kai cleared his throat. “Are you available to work on retainer for Her Majesty? I have a feeling she is going to need all the help she can get.” 

Sophie nodded. “I’ll clear my schedule.”


	2. Hit the Showers

Before Anna knew what was happening, Kristoff was sitting in the spot previously occupied by her therapist just a moment before. With as much patience as he could muster, Kristoff asked Olaf, who had followed him in, to go get some carrots from the kitchen and take them to Sven in the stables. 

“It’s a little insensitive to ask a snowman to go feed snowman noses to your pet reindeer, don’t you think, Kristoff?” He quirked a twiggy eyebrow in the iceman’s direction. 

Kristoff huffed and rolled his eyes. “I wanted it to be a surprise, Olaf, but Anna and I need to talk about…. what we’re getting you for Christmas!” Kristoff fibbed unconvincingly. 

“Say no more!” Olaf giggled as he walked unhurriedly toward the door. “I’ll go get my vision board so you can get some ideas.” The snowman turned and loudly whispered in Anna’s direction. “But before I go, can you just put Kristoff out of his misery and tell him if you talked to your therapist about him? That’s what he really wants to talk to you about.” At that, Olaf scuttled out of the room with Kristoff glowering at his back. 

“Kristoff! Hi! ” Anna greeted, still amused from the interaction with Olaf. “Were you waiting outside? Did you hear anything through the door?” Her blue-green eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

“The 3-inch thick solid oak door? No. Trust me, I tried.” Kristoff snickered and ducked as a throw pillow whizzed by his ear. “KIDDING! Kidding!” His expansive shoulders shook as he struggled to contain his laughter. “But seriously though, how’d it go?” 

“Good, I think. I already feel a bit lighter,” Anna smiled weakly. 

“That’s great! I just hope you know that you can talk to me, too, ya know? I’m always here to listen or help. You know that right? There’s nothing you could say to me that would change how I feel about you,” the sincerity of Kristoff’s words burned in his honey brown eyes. 

Anna stood up from the couch she was sitting on and closed the short distance between the two of them. Shimmying onto Kristoff’s lap, Anna placed her hands on either side of his face and placed a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. 

“I know, Kris. I tell you everything..everything important, anyway. I didn’t tell her anything you don’t already know. But I just...I’m queen now, and I owe it to the people of Arendelle to get my mind right. I’ve struggled with depression my whole life, and this...this grudge I’m holding against my parents is just kind of eating away at me. And Sophie thinks if you teach me to box, I’ll feel better about everything.”

“Wait, _what_?” confusion was etched all over Kristoff’s face. 

Anna giggled and laced her petite fingers through his.

“She thinks I have a lot of...shall we say repressed rage and wants me to find a healthy outlet to channel that anger. I thought maybe you could teach me to fight?” Anna’s pleading eyes and soft smile tugged at the corners of Kristoff’s resolve. He could never refuse her anything. 

“Fighting, Anna? I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. What if you get hurt?” His handsome face twisted into a concerned frown. 

“Think of it this way. You can help me with my therapy homework while teaching me to defend myself at the same time. Aren’t you always saying that everybody should know how to defend themselves? What if I get kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom?”

Kristoff’s hold around Anna’s waist tightened. “Where am I when you’re getting kidnapped?”

“I don’t know. On an ice harvesting trip or something. Do you really suppose you’ll come along on every sea voyage I embark on? There will be a lot of them.”

“If I have anything to say about it, you will never sail alone. I know you hate sailing, and I hate the idea of an ocean being between us. But I’ll humor you. Let’s say somehow you did get kidnapped by pirates” Kristoff mused. “I’d call up the entire Arendellian Navy and wouldn’t set foot on dry land until you were safely returned to me. And then I would chain the pirates that took you to the business end of our cannons and light the fuses.” Kristoff smiled grimly. 

“Well if you don’t want to teach me to fight, Sophie also suggested target practice. You could teach me to shoot a gun,” Anna challenged. Kristoff blanched at the idea of his clumsy fiance with a gun. 

“I’m not much of a fighter, Anna. Never had to be. But I can show you a few things I picked up when I used to spar around with some of the other ice harvesters in the downtime,” Kristoff relented. 

Anna beamed at her fiance. “You’re so good to me!” She pressed another kiss to his eager lips. “Meet me at the castle gymnasium at dusk? And don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you!” Anna stood up and made her way to the door as Kristoff watched her retreating form. He couldn’t help but laugh and roll his eyes when she balled up her fists, flexed her diminutive biceps, and shadowboxed out the door. 

***

  
  
“Not like that, Anna. You’ll break your thumbs if you tuck them like that.” Kristoff pried Anna’s thumbs out of her balled up fists. “Now, bend your knees, tighten your core--”

“Excuse me, tighten my _what_?!” Anna turned to stare up at Kristoff with a scandalized look on her face. 

“Your core, Anna. Your stomach? Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter!” Kristoff snorted, but Anna couldn’t help but notice his ears turned bright red. “Now, breathe and follow through.” Kristoff punched the heavy bag with a loud wallop that sent the bag swinging to and fro. Anna still got the sense that he was only using a fraction of his strength. 

Anna wound up and hit the bag with all her might, and to her dismay, it didn’t budge. She narrowed her eyes, grit her teeth, and took another swing with a small grunt. And another. 

“That’s it! Good!" Kristoff coached. "But I know you can do better. Imagine the bag is someone you hate. Imagine it’s Hans.” 

_If only there was someone out there who loved you._

Anna closed her eyes and saw cold, cruel green eyes laughing at her mirthlessly. Every muscle in her body stiffened, and her blood ran cold. This time, when she hit the bag she sent it into orbit. 

Kristoff clapped his hands proudly when he watched his queen start to really unload on the heavy bag. 

“That’s my girl! Now you’re getting it!” he encouraged. But truth be told, the daggers in her eyes scared him more than her fists ever could. He fervently hoped he never gave her cause to look at him like she was looking at that punching bag. 

“I think I killed him.” Anna panted heavily; her arms hung dead at her sides. 

“It’s no less than he deserves,” Kristoff growled as he handed Anna a towel and glass of water. “Have you had enough?” 

“Almost.” She said, taking a swig of water, and dabbing the perspiration off her face. “But punching bags don’t hit back. So you be my attacker. What do I do to fight you off?” Anna got into her best attempt at a fighting stance. Knees bent as they were, she was now just barely at the level of Kristoff’s chest. 

He sighed resignedly. . 

“If you are ever attacked,” Kristoff swallowed the bile that rose in his throat at such a thought, “your best chance of survival is to run away. But if you have to fight, you want to aim for the most vulnerable areas. Use your fingers to poke eyes. Use the heel of your hand to strike up at the nose.” Kristoff patted the heel of his open hand and demonstrated an upward strike.

“...If you punch a man in the Adam’s apple, you’ll at least buy yourself enough time to run away. Then there’s the kidneys.” He turned around and pointed to the sensitive areas on either side of his back. Then he was facing her again. “And, uh, the crotch. That’ll drop a guy for sure.”

“I think I’ve got it. Now, let’s put it to the test. Grab me from behind and let me try and get away.” 

“Grab you from behi--what? No! Anna, be serious! You are a queen with an entire military to protect you. Not to mention a behemoth of a fiancé. This really isn’t necessary…”

“You better hope those kidnapping pirates aren’t the raping sort,” Anna crossed her arms across her chest and stubbornly jutted out her chin. 

Kristoff’s jaw flew open then snapped shut. “Fine.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “Have it your way.” 

He stepped behind the queen, close enough that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. And then suddenly, his iron arms were around her, crossing in the front and clutching her wrists in his massive palms. He barely exerted any pressure, but his bulk and strength kept her from being able to so much as twitch beneath his grasp.

Kristoff dipped his face in the space between her neck and shoulder. “Now what are you going to do?” His gravelly voice sent chills down her spine. Anna turned her head to look back at him. Feeling him this close to her was doing all kinds of things to her core, and she didn’t mean her _stomach_. So she moved the one thing she still could: her hips. She pressed herself even tighter up against the man restraining her, and grinded her bottom right up against his crotch. Kristoff groaned at the contact, but didn’t release his hold. 

“That might not get the desired reaction if that’s how you plan to fight off a pirate” He muttered gruffly. She giggled and pressed up against him again, and he instantly let her go with a growl.

“Anna, gods, what are you trying to do to me?” Kristoff huffed. 

“Well...I got away from you, didn’t I? And you're right! The crotch will drop a guy for sure.” Anna grinned wickedly and playfully punched his arm. 

Kristoff groaned and adjusted his too tight pants. “How many more days until the wedding? I don’t know how much more of your teasing I can take!” 

“16 more days, lover boy! Keep your eyes on the prize!” Anna slung her towel over her shoulder and sauntered towards the door. “I need to get out of these sweaty clothes,” she winked at him over her shoulder. “See you at dinner, Bjorgman?” 

Kristoff stared after her in disbelief. That woman was going to be the death of him. Kristoff sighed heavily and made his way to his room for a long, cold shower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to put another therapy session in this chapter, but it was getting too long, and the Kristanna fluff and sexual tension kinda wrote itself. (Funny how that happens!) This fic might end up getting an M rating after all. Thanks for reading! Would love to hear what you thin! 
> 
> Next time on STNW, more therapy, more angst, and probably some more blue balls.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time on STNW Anna asks Kristoff to teach her to box. Shenanigans ensue.


End file.
